Kessel tallies in shootout as Bruins rally past Capitals

BOSTON (Ticker) -- When the Boston Bruins needed a victory in
the worst way, they turned to shootout hero Phil Kessel.

Rookie Kessel tallied on the third attempt in the shootout as
the Bruins rallied to post a 4-3 victory over the struggling
Washington Capitals, which lost its ninth straight game.

Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron each had a goal and an assist
and Brandon Bochenski also scored for Boston, which trailed,
3-0, late in the second period due to a three-goal effort by
Washington captain Chris Clark.

"The win was huge," Bergeron said. "We we were all aware that
we needed the two points. That comeback in the third period was
awesome."

"Considering the situation, it doesn't get any better than
this," Bruins coach Dave Lewis added. "Down 3-0 and finding a
way to win the hockey game, albeit in a shootout, was great. We
certainly needed the two points."

The hat trick by Clark was the second of his career, with his
first coming vs. Florida on March 18, 2006.

"Things were going well for us," Clark said. "We had a 3-0
lead. This is a tough pill to swallow."

In the shootout, Bergeron scored on the Bruins' second attempt,
wristing a shot between the pads of goaltender Olaf Kolzig.

After Alex Ovechkin tallied on the Capitals' third attempt in
the bonus format, Kessel won the game when he deked Kolzig and
slapped a forehand shot past the glove of the netminder for his
fourth game-winning shootout tally of the season.

"Kessel's like (Mariano) Rivera from the (New York) Yankees,"
said Bruins center Marc Savard, comparing him to the ace
reliever. "We put him in there late and it's a 90 percent
chance he's going to get us a win."

With 12 games left in its season, Boston (34-31-5) moves within
five points of the New York Islanders (34-26-10) and the
Carolina Hurricanes (35-29-8) for a final playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference.

"We need to win every game," Savard added. "we know that. We
got the win even if it wasn't pretty, but now we move on."

Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for Boston, which swept Washington
for the first time since 1993-94.

Kolzig, in his first appearance after missing a month with a
knee injury, made 36 saves for the Capitals, who are on their
longest losing streak since dropping 13 in a row from October 11
to November 11, 1981.

"It's very frustrating because we've got to find a way to win
these kind of hockey games," Kolzig said. "It's a fine line and
if we want to take that next step next year, we've got to find
a way to put these games away."